Lukas Rosol handed the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over France in their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie on Friday after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five-set thriller. The 78th-ranked Rosol stunned world number 10 Tsonga 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 in three hours and 52 minutes. The game started with a minute's silence for the victims of Thursday's terror attack in Nice that left at least 84 dead, of which 10 were children or youths.
On the hardcourt of the Werk Arena in the eastern Czech town of Trinec, the big-serving, 30-year-old Rosol got off to an impressive start, taking the first set on a single break. But Tsonga, who is 31, regained his first serve in the second set and took a 2-1 lead with a break in each set. Both held on to their serve in set four, with Rosol taking it in a thrilling tie-break after escaping from two match points.
Rosol and Tsonga traded breaks in the first two games of set five but the Czech then added another and converted his third match point. "I have no words for what happened on the court today," Rosol told the Czech Television after the game. "It's a fantastic feeling to play as number two against a number one and win in five sets." "I'm simply in a good shape." The second rubber Friday sees French young gun Lucas Pouille, the world number 21, face the Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely, ranked 50th.